“Jesus said to her ‘...God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah [Christ] is coming. When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’ (John 4:24)
Here is the meeting of our Lord Jesus with the woman at Jacob’s well. As we eavesdrop in their conversation, we learn so much about true and false faith and prayer. Hers was a partial faith. He wasn’t being unkind, just truthful when Christ said that the Samaritans didn’t know the God that they prayed to. How many, even among the Orthodox Christians will say, ‘There’s only one God,’ as though it doesn’t matter how or to Whom one prays. But it matters immensely. Then and now false worshippers pick and choose from the Holy Scriptures, ignoring what doesn’t seem to suit their “needs.” They like a comfortable faith—come as you are, leave when you want, take what you wish from the services. Fasting? That’s old fashioned. Confession? Who needs it, if God loves you? Ritual regular prayers? God knows what I need without my telling Him.
Christ tells the woman, ‘God is Spirit. God doesn’t care about things. If you’re worried about material possessions and the means to obtain them, you expose yourself to the work of the devil. He hates God and has no way to battle Him; but he knows that God loves us, and the next best way to injure God is to deceive and possess us. The Holy Spirit is One with the Father and Son; therefore, He is eternal. He prays for your wisdom and discernment. When you prefer what passes and disintegrates to what lasts forever and is most precious, the Spirit simply abides His time. If the channel to the Holy Trinity is clogged up with images of anger, confusion, revenge, greed or all the other temptations that Satan will be glad to help you place there, your prayers are just wind blowing back in your face.
The highest part of you is your soul, or spirit. When your spirit resonates to the voice of Christ calling to your soul via the Holy Spirit, you have made contact with the divinity within you. You must pray in the spirit if you are to communicate with your Creator. And your prayer must be true. False prayers are worse than worthless—they appear to be in touch with the living God, but they miss their target. That is the definition of idolatry. True prayer is the person ascending to his or her highest potential, rising above the body and all its concerns, alert, aware, conscious of the divine Presence both in him and beyond him. When it happens you meet the living Truth. You meet Jesus Christ.
Here is how the discourse at Jacob’s well ends. The woman expects to be taught about prayer from Him whom she considers a prophet. Prophets spoke of the coming of the Messiah. She opens up the conversation and waits for His wisdom on that subject. He doesn’t talk about the Messiah—He is Messiah, and He reveals Himself to her. He is in the Spirit, and He embodies truth. He is the Truth. Remember on His last day on earth the confrontation with Pontius Pilate. They were speaking about truth. Pilate was not open to the living Truth. The woman at Jacob’s well and Pilate in the Praetorium express nuances of the great truth in the prologue of St. John’s gospel: In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it [1:4]. One of them was coming out of the darkness into the light. The other lived in darkness and remained there.